Always Have, Always Will
by randomsmileyperson
Summary: Justin & Alex met when they were in high school. They started going out and it was like fate – they were completely smitten with each other. 5 years later, they were still together but that's when they hit a rough patch & broke up. But 5 years later, they're both back in New York and meet again. They try to fight it but they love each other - always have, always will. *JALEX*AU*
1. A Date?

_Summary: Justin Russo and Alex Santiago met when they were in high school. They started going out and it was like fate – they were completely smitten with each other. They were completely in love and could even dream of having a future together; they thought they'd be together forever, and so did everyone else. Five years later they were still together but that's when the problems began to arise. Things were getting too much until they broke up, leaving them angry and heartbroken. Neither of them spoke to the other after that as they went their separate ways and lived their lives. But five years after that, they're both back in New York and due to them having mutual friends they meet again and have to hang out together... a lot. They don't tell their friends about their past but eventually they have to when they get suspicious and find some old pictures. They try their best to continue with their lives but they soon discover that they can't deny it any longer – they still love each other. Always have, always will._

* * *

**A/N: Why hello there people! It's Ciara back with a new Jalex story! Again, I'm looking forward to this one. It should be quite sweet cos I get to start with Jalex, then they break up but then I get to work back up to Jalex. I was thinking through some of my ideas and this one seemed like it'd make a good story that I'd enjoy writing. I normally say where I got the inspiration but this time I'm not really sure; I guess just from my own mind and watching so many rom coms (as usual). I really hope you guys enjoy this. I try and make all my Jalex stories different from others and I hope this one does as well as my others. The Jalex fanbase isn't huge but the people that do read my stories, I really appreciate you guys! So, I hope you people enjoy this story and I will now let you read on!**

_**Story info: NO MAGIC IS INVOLVED! AU STORY. Justin and Alex are NOT RELATED! As in my other Jalex stories, Alex's surname is Santiago and her mum and dad are Karl and Louisa. Justin's still a Russo and his parents are Jerry and Theresa and Max is his younger brother (2 years younger than him). To be clear on ages, when they start dating Justin is 18 (a senior) and Alex is 17 (a Junior). When they break up Justin is 23 and Alex is 22. When they meet again Justin is 28 and Alex is 27.**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

* * *

It was simply an average day in Tribeca Prep. Well, it was for most people but for two of them it was the beginning of a whole new part of their lives. Their very own love story, if you like. Yes, the idea of 'soul mates' and finding the 'love of your life' does sound far fetched and too good to be true. Some people don't believe in these, shall we say 'fairytales'. It might just be the way they are or that a broken heart has destroyed any previous belief they may have had. But for these two it was different. You know what they say; when you know, you know.

* * *

Justin Russo was in the school library glancing through the many titles as he tried to find something both interesting and that he hadn't read before. He was a senior and he had a free period so he was going to make a start on adding another book to the long list of ones he's already read. You could say he was a nerd – well, most people did – but not in a bad way. He's wasn't popular, he wasn't unpopular and bullied; he was just an average guy who happened to get extremely good grades. Besides, he was too good looking to be an unpopular geek.

"Hey Justin!" a loud voice called, piercing through the silence of the library. Justin cringed as he recognized the voice instantly – how could he not recognize his younger brother's voice?

"Max, what have I told you about the library? You have to be _quiet_." he stressed. Lets just say Max wasn't the brightest spark. He was a good kid but Justin had apparently got all the brains (although when he looked at his family he wondered where he got it from in the first place).

"I know but it's opposite day! Wait, no; it's _not_ opposite day! Oh and before, I meant to say 'bye' not 'hey'. Hang on, no, I mean that I didn't mean to say that..." Max replied getting seriously confused with what he was trying to say.

Justin sighed, "Who told you it was opposite day_ this_ time?"

"Brandon!" Max grinned his signature dopey grin.

"Max, that's the third time in two weeks. It wasn't opposite day then, and it isn't now. It _doesn't exist_!" he emphasised. Quietly, of course. "So please lower your voice."

Max nodded before speaking in his normal voice, "Alright. I guess you're right. And man, who knew opposite day could be so confusing! If you think about it, opposite day, isn't actually opposite day." he said insightfully.

Justin just nodded and went along with it – often that was the easiest thing to do. "Y'know what Max, you are totally right. That is a very conclusive result."

"A what?" the 16 year old frowned as his older brother's use of vocabulary.

"Never mind." Justin mumbled, turning back to the books in front of him.

There was a few moments of silence and Justin had obviously failed to notice that Max had wondered off to... wherever Max goes as he was too engrossed in the books in front of him.

"Y'know I'm not doing anything after school, we could go to that little café down the street." he suggested, eyes still on a book he had just picked out to inspect.

"Is that an offer of a date?" a feminine voice that _definitely_ wasn't Max's asked, making Justin jump and almost drop the book he was holding as he turned to look at the owner of the voice. Justin's eyes widened slightly because he was greeted by the sight of the most beautiful girl he's ever seen; dark brown eyes, slightly tanned skin, perfect body and long, dark brown hair that went a few inches past her shoulders. She was also currently wearing a smile as she looked up at him, with her being a few inches shorter than him in her flat shoes.

"Uh, sorry I, uh, thought I was still talking to my brother." Justin apologised, feeling a little nervous as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh right. So you _weren't_ asking me out on a date?" the girl asked, raising an eyebrow and still wearing that same smile.

"Well now I wouldn't say that." Justin replied, getting a sudden burst of confidence as he smiled back at her. If a girl like her was taking an interest, he was going to respond.

"So... it _is_ a date? Because, to be honest, I don't normally go out with guys who's name I don't know." she tilted her head to the side, obviously flirting.

"Right. Well, I'm Justin." he stuck his hand not holding the book out for her to shake, which she did with a giggle.

"Alex." she introduced herself before they let go of each other's hands after holding on for a moment too long.

"Well Alex, now that we've been acquainted would you consider going on that date with me?" he asked charmingly.

Alex let out a laugh as she looked down for a moment before looking back up to meet his blue eyes, "Yeah, I will." she answered.

"Great." Justin grinned as he placed the book back on the shelf.

"So I heard that little café down the street is meant to be really nice." Alex commented.

The bell rang right then signalling the end of the period and Justin replied, "Yeah, it is. And I guess you'll find out after school. Meet you outside after last period?" he asked.

"Sounds good." she smiled.

"Alright, see you then." he winked before walking away, leaving Alex grinning to herself. When she walked in to the library after pretending she needed the bathroom purely to get out of the rest of her class she never expected to get a date with a seriously cute guy while she was there! Teachers are so wrong; skipping class can have _extremely_ positive outcomes.

**A/N: Ta-dah! First chapter done and the love story has begun! The next chap will be the date and I hope it'll be sweet. They basically fall in love instantly but obviously I'm not going to have them say that right away cos first off, they won't know for sure and second, it's really annoying when that happens. But they're obviously going to get together quick cos the whole plot of the story is that they date and are crazy in love before they break up and then they meet again and try and deny old feelings... basically the summary but in a less formal way. So yeah, I hope the next chap is really sweet with some cute Jalex. They all sweet and innocent... at this stage ;D. So yeah, please review, follow, fave whatever and let me know what you think!**

**Smiley Ciara XxX :)**


	2. Opposites Attract

**A/N: Hola people! Thanks for the reviews on the first chap; you guys are awesome! Guest, The Girl Who Loves Purple, Alycea, SelenaFanatic, OriginallyUnknown and everyone else who has supported this story so far! Well in this chap they go on their date in the café and we see how they instantly click. A perfect match. I do hope it's sweet (check me out, goin' all posh English there – so Made In Chelsea lol). I don't know how many chaps I'll do of them as teenagers; maybe just under 10 chaps or something? Not sure. The break up is only gonna be one chap and then it moves onto the when they're even older and... yeah. Anyway, hope you like this chap, so read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

* * *

Justin was making his way outside the school to meet Alex. He still couldn't believe that he got a date so quickly – and in the library of all places! He's been to the library countless times and never once has he managed to get a date in there. He wasn't sure if anyone had. And with a girl as gorgeous as Alex! To be honest, Justin normally knew the girl he was asking out or had taken the time to get to know her but with Alex, none of that seemed to matter. He just seemed to instantly like her.

As he got outside, Justin got a tiny bit of worry that she wouldn't be there. Luckily any worry he had was banished when he saw the girl in question standing there, waiting. He grinned before he walked over to her. Alex turned to see him approaching and a smile instantly graced her features which made a smile tug at Justin's lips too.

"Hey." she greeted him when he reached her.

"Hey. So, you ready?" he asked. They both appeared a tad nervous as they seemed to have only now realised they were going to go on a date. It was all so fast it had only just sunk in. But the nerves were good.

"Yeah." she nodded, before they walked off together to the café.

"I didn't bring my car today but it's not that far so you don't mind walking, do you?" he asked her as he put his hands in his pockets.

"No it's cool. I mean, I don't have my license anyway. According to my parents I'm not allowed to learn how to drive until I'm 18; something about responsibility or whatever." she shrugged.

"Oh, so you're not 18 yet?" Justin questioned. He realised that he had no idea how old she was and he was pretty sure he knew every senior in the school.

"No, I'm 17. Why?" she asked, glancing up at him.

"Oh there's no problem or anything, it's just I'm 18, so..." he drifted off with a shrug. The age difference of a year isn't that big of a deal but it kind of is when in high school. Justin wasn't bothered about it but he hoped Alex was fine with it too. He also hoped her parents didn't have a problem with it...

"So I not only managed to get a date in the library but a date with a _senior_? Wow, this just gets better." she smiled up at him flirtatiously.

Justin chuckled before he glanced up to see they'd arrived at the café. "Well, we're here." he informed her as they stopped in front of the cute little building.

"Great. So are we gonna go in?" she asked.

Justin responded by opening the door and holding it open for her, "After you."

"A gentleman too; aren't I lucky?" she commented as she brushed past him before he followed close behind.

They found a booth in the corner and sat a slight distance away form each other. They spoke a little for a minute before a waitress came over and took their order. Not long after she brought over their drinks.

"So, what were you doing in the library earlier anyway?" Justin asked her our of curiosity.

"Math was _so_ boring. I just need a break, y'know?" she replied nonchalantly.

"No, I don't really know." Justin answered with a slight laugh.

Alex frowned, "What? Are you saying you like _math_?" Alex asked, unable to comprehend the thought of liking math.

Justin shrugged, "Yeah. I guess you could say school and education is kind of my thing."

Alex nodded, "Ah, I see; nerd."

"I prefer genius." Justin joked, earning a laugh from Alex. He was glad she hadn't changed her mind after finding out about his geeky side. He could tell already she was pretty opposite to him – she hated school, most likely didn't get the best grades, got into trouble, had lots of friends and could very easily make new ones and probably had no trouble attracting boys...she wouldn't really fit in with his crowd and vice versa. Justin had never really understood or believed in the whole 'opposites attract' thing but now, it seemed to make sense.

"We're pretty different aren't we?" Justin voiced his thoughts.

"Who said that's a bad thing?" Alex tilted her head to the side, with a mischievous grin.

* * *

It was about an hour later and the pair were still at the café and that slight distance that was between them had disappeared. Sitting very close, Justin and Alex looked very cosy as they talked, laughed and flirted. It was weird; like they'd known each other for a lot longer than just a day.

Alex's phone went off then and she looked at it and sighed, "My mom. Says I need to come home."

"Yeah, I guess I should head back too." Justin agreed, pulling out his wallet and leaving some money on the table before they got up and went to walk out.

* * *

Justin had walked Alex back to her house after their little café date. Normally dates were generally at night but there was no rule to say that it couldn't be earlier. Now, Justin could have just let her find her own way home and went his own way - they had just met after all. But he wanted to walk her home because he really liked her. And, though he was no expert on girls, it appeared she really liked him too.

They reached Alex's house and they stood outside her door before speaking.

"Well, I guess I should say thanks – I really enjoyed this." Alex said to him, smiling. She felt like she'd been doing that all afternoon.

"Yeah, me too. And hey, you might even enjoy it more the next time." he replied, whilst actually asking her out on another date.

"Oh, so you're going to take me out again, are you?" Alex quizzed, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Saturday at 6 if you don't mind?" he asked with an air of confidence.

"No, sounds great." she grinned widely.

"Great." he said before a silence fell over them and the simply looked at each other. Or more specifically, into each other's eyes. Justin took a step closer and leaned down while Alex leaned up until they were unfortunately interrupted by Alex's front door opening and Justin stepped back scratching the back of his neck while Alex turned a shade of red and cringed as she turned to see her dad standing there.

"Ah, Alex you're home now I see." the older man said whilst eyeing up Justin. "And you are...?"

"Uh, Justin Russo." Justin replied, offering his hand for Alex's dad to shake, which he did.

He nodded, "Karl Santiago; Alex's dad."

"Duh." Alex muttered under her breath.

"Nice to meet you Mr Santiago." Justin said politely.

Karl chuckled, "You learn fast, don't you?" he asked, referring to Justin's formality. He was expecting to do the whole 'It's Mr Santiago to you' thing but it appeared in this case, his daughter had found someone with manners.

Justin laughed, still a little nervous. "OK, well it was nice meeting you but I should get going. I'll see you tomorrow." Justin said as he backed away from the house.

"Bye." Alex replied, watching after him as he walked away.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her dad clearing his throat. She turned to look at him and saw the expectant look on his face. She huffed a little, still quite embarrassed, "Shut up, dad." she muttered before walking past him into the house.

**A/N: And how did you like that?! Was it cute? And yeah, only known each other a day and they had an almost kiss. But that's how it's meant to be for this story – the whole point is that they're meant to be together but they just hit a few bumps in the road on the way. So the next chap is their date which I hope you're gonna find really cute so if you wanna read that, review!**

**And random note – so excited! Seeing R5 on Thursday! It won't feel real until I'm there... I mean, Ross Lynch is gonna be right there and... ah. I may actually have to be taken home in an ambulance from fangirling haha.**


	3. Carnival

**A/N: Why hello there! Thanks again for the reviews, means a lot. Alycea, SelenaFanatic, Guest, Kktavares, christabelperez29 and anyone else! As I said, this chap is their date – they've had a first date but this one a more official, proper date like date (if that makes sense). I think it's gonna be pretty romantic at times. And if you've read the title of the chap, you probably know where the date is set. So, hope you're gonna enjoy this, so read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

* * *

Saturday had finally arrived which meant it was Justin and Alex's date.

Alex was ready and waiting in her room. She was a little nervous for the date but she was mostly excited because she had already had one date with him and they got on _so_ well and she couldn't describe how much she liked him. Her friends had found it pretty weird since they had heard of Justin and knew of his reputation which was a stark contrast to Alex's. But, they were also impressed because of the fact he was a senior, and a cute one at that.

She was brought out of her thoughts by a knock at the door, to which Alex responded by rushing out her room and down the stairs, trying to reach it before her parents could. Luckily she did and she swung open the door and greeted her date with a smile, "Hi."

"Hey." he grinned back.

Before Alex could say anything else, she heard her mom's voice from behind her, "Alex?"

Alex sighed and turned around, seeing both her mom and dad standing there, "Yeah?"

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" her mom asked, an eyebrow raised.

Alex opened the door wider and Justin stepped in, "Mom, this is Justin and dad, well, you've already met."

"Hi, call me Louisa." her mom smiled warmly as she gave a little wave.

"Nice to meet you." Justin replied. At the moment he preferred her mom to her dad who was giving him a stare that didn't give anything away. "Uh, hello again, sir." Justin nodded.

Karl nodded back, "Evening. Not too late home, I hope?" he questioned.

"Course not; you have my word." Justin promised.

"OK, now that's over with, we're gonna go now." Alex interrupted the utter awkwardness, inching towards the door.

"Alright, have a nice time." Louisa chirped, smiling at her daughter and her date.

"We will, bye!" Alex said quickly as her and Justin stepped out the door and she shut it behind them. She sighed, "God, they're so embarrassing." she groaned.

"Trust me, they weren't that bad." Justin reassured her as they walked towards his car.

"Speaking from past experience?" Alex glanced at him, a slight smirk on her face.

"Maybe." was his reply before he opened the door to the passenger side for Alex, who smiled as she got in.

"So, where are you taking me? Or is it a surprise?" she asked when they were in the car and driving.

Justin grinned to himself, "It's a surprise but don't worry, I'm sure you'll like it – it's hard not to."

Alex frowned in confusion, trying hard to think of where he might take her. "Uh, is there food?" she asked.

"Yes." he answered.

"Will there be other people there?"

"Yes."

"Is it... outside?"

"Yup."

"Will there be music?"

"Most likely."

"Gee that helps." Alex grumbled sarcastically. None of those clues gave any clear indication to where she was being taken. There was food, music, other people, it was outside... that could be, uh, let's think; _anywhere!_

"Aw, does Alex not like surprises?" Justin laughed, glancing at her before looking back at the road.

"I like them when I know what they are." she answered.

"I think you need to look up the definition of 'surprise' again." Justin joked.

Alex just gave him a look but she couldn't keep it up for long as a moment later she rolled her eyes and let out a giggle herself. Second date and there was already playful banter. "You're such a dork."

"That's not gonna become a nickname, is it?" Justin asked, with a slight groan.

Alex shrugged, "I don't know. It seems quite fitting, I think."

"Thanks." Justin replied sarcastically. He wasn't annoyed about it as he knew she meant no offence by it. Besides, he'd admitted it to himself years ago that he was quite the geek.

"It's not an insult! Dork is, I don't know... cute." Alex smiled shyly as she shrugged again.

"Hm, liking dork a little more now." Justin grinned at her, finding her shyness quite adorable. He didn't know how a girl could pull off being everything from adorable and cute to elegant and beautiful to gorgeous and sexy all at the same time, but apparently, Alex could.

Alex laughed before she looked out the car window, "Where are we?"

Justin stopped the car and said, "We're here." before getting out of the car, Alex following suit.

"A carnival?" Alex questioned as she looked around at the landscape which was now filled with rides and stalls in every colour imaginable and people milling around all with big grins on their faces due to the wondrous atmosphere that often came with a carnival.

Justin shrugged, "Yeah, it comes to town every year. I've only been once before when I was younger and I wanted this date to be... original." he explained before he looked down to his side where Alex stood, still taking in the sight in front of her. "So, what do you think?"

Alex looked back up at him, a wide grin gracing her lips, "Well, I think this is the best date ever."

"We just got here." Justin stated, a tad confused.

"Yeah, I know." was all Alex said in reply before she grabbed his hand and they walked into the crowd of people.

* * *

It was 3 or 4 hours later – they weren't sure, they were having too much fun to notice the time. The only indication it was getting later was the sky getting darker.

They'd been on rides, gorged themselves on all the delicious food, gone to some stalls but the best part of the night was simply the company of each other. They could feel themselves falling hard but they didn't care.

After walking around for a while they reached the edge of the ground where the carnival was located where it was much quieter. They noticed a huge oak tree that stood out from the other smaller ones and walked up to it.

Justin grinned, "Hey, I got an idea."

Alex just raised her eyebrow in response as Justin found a sharp enough rock and began to carve away at the tree. She didn't know what he was doing but she watched him as he did so, noticing little details about him – like how he was left handed and his eyes were the perfect shade of pale blue.

Justin must have stabbed his finger or something because he flinched and muttered a curse, causing Alex to laugh, "OK, seriously, _what_ are you doing?" she asked him.

He looked over at her, "C'mere." was all he said before he went back to finish what he was doing.

Alex stepped closer to the tree and Justin stepped back to reveal his carvings. Alex's face broke out into a grin as she looked at what he'd carved onto the tree.

He shrugged, "Pretty cheesy, I know but I couldn't resist."

"You carved our names on the tree." Alex said quietly, admiring the heart which had their names _Justin & Alex_ in it. "That is probably the most... romantic thing anyone has ever done for me."

"Eh, I try." Justin shrugged again, before he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug.

After a moment they pulled apart to stare into each other's eyes – they'd barely known each other a week and they'd never been this happy before. Nothing had ever felt so right. It was obvious that what they had was something special – their first loves were nothing compared to this. Which is why they felt every cliché emotion in the book when they leaned in a closed the gap – sparks, fireworks, butterflies, shivers... everything.

The kiss lasted maybe about a minute, they weren't really aware as they were so lost in it but when they pulled apart they both had identical expressions of pure happiness and bliss on their faces.

They wondered around the carnival for a little while longer before Justin had to take Alex home.

When they got back to Alex's house, Justin walked her to her door.

"I had so much fun. And I was right y'know; when I said it was the best date ever." Alex told him.

"I've set my standards high, haven't I?" he asked jokingly, to which she giggled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it though. It's weird, I've never really wanted time to just stop before; press pause."

"I know what you mean." Alex whispered before she leaned up to kiss him again, wrapping her slender arms around his neck in an attempt to pull him as close as possible, whilst his went around her waist as he tried to do the same thing.

They were pulled apart by a knock from the other side of the door – most likely Karl, not wanting to have to interrupt another awkward moment like before. He was sure Alex wouldn't appreciate that.

Alex sighed, "I guess I have to go."

"Yeah. I'll see you on Monday though." Justin replied. Neither of them had moved from their current positions yet.

Alex grinned, "Yeah, you will." was all she said before giving him one last kiss and stepping back to open her door. "Night."

"Night." he said, walking back to his car after she'd shut the door, feeling like the luckiest guy in the world.

**A/N: Awwwwwwwwwwww! Cute, or cute? I was proud of myself for thinking of the names in the tree bit (that's gonna become a small part of the story btw). It is very cliché but that's what this story really is. My stories really are like romantic comedies – you know basically what's gonna happen in the end but sometimes you're not so sure what's gonna happen in between. Alrighty then, if you liked that, please REVIEW!**

**So yesterday was the day I went to see R5 live and... wow! It was so amazing! They are just incredible live – flawless vocals and it was so fun just to totally rock out! Seriously, I was head banging and everything lol. Unfortunately I wasn't near the stage (I never am, am I?) but the venue wasn't massive so although I was at the back where the standing area was I could still see all their faces clearly which was amazing – Ross is even more gorgeous in real life! It was seriously just so much fun. Waiting outside in the rain for over an hour wasn't fun but it was worth it. The opening acts were great too. Some brother and sister duo who were cool and then their younger brother Ryland came out to do some of his Djing. But I'm so pissed off at myself cos I didn't know it was Ryland, I just thought it was some DJ. This is why I don't consider myself an official member of the R5 family yet – at the moment, I am clearly not worthy haha. But yeah, absolutely amazing night!**

**And now you may REVIEW! :D**

**Smiley Ciara XxX :)**


	4. Serious

**A/N: SUP! Thanks y'all for the reviews! Kktavares, NatnatJAlex, Alycea and anyone else! OK this is gonna actually be a little short chap I think? Not as long as the last one anyway. It's them back at school now that they're officially an item and I'm gonna have Justin's friends reactions which I hope will be kinda funny (y'know, cos they're basically nerds and now one of them is dating a hot girl... yeah). I don't call my stories rom coms for nothing! OK, well, read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

* * *

Justin had just finished texting Alex that he was outside her house when he heard Max speak from the back seat of his car.

"Why are we here again?" the younger brown haired boy asked.

"I'm picking up Alex. I literally just told you about a minute ago." Justin replied, looking at him through the rear view mirror.

Max shrugged, "I forgot; you can't expect me to remember _everything_."

Justin shook his head at Max's exaggeration – he hadn't told him to remember String Theory or something.

"So is this gonna happen everyday? Cos I want a warning if you guys are gonna start making out or something." Max said.

"We're not gonna make out with you sitting right there." Justin said, "And yeah, it is gonna be nearly everyday I guess. I mean, she _is_ my girlfriend."

Max nodded before glancing out the window, eyes suddenly widening, "Wait, _that's_ your girlfriend?"

Justin looked over to indeed see Alex walking towards the car, "Yeah, why? You know her?"

"Yeah a little; she's in detention a lot. But I mean, you're all smart and stuff and she's like cool and, well, not like you." Max explained. "Plus she's hot."

"Thanks, I don't feel at all insulted." was all Justin got to say sarcastically before Alex got in the car.

"Hey." she smiled before leaning across to give Justin a quick peck, noticing they had company. She turned round to greet Max, "Hi, I'm Alex."

"I'm Max; Justin's awesome younger brother." Max introduced himself, earning a laugh from Alex.

"I'm sure. Well, it's nice to meet you." Alex replied as Justin started the car and drove off.

The rest of the drive was mainly filled with pleasantries, small talk and banter. Max seemed to get on well with Alex (which Justin could understand as they were quite similar). When they got to school they said bye to Max as he went his own way while they strolled into the school hand in hand, a subtle way of announcing their relationship. People glanced in their direction, looked for a few moments as they acknowledged it before going back to their own business.

They went to Alex's locker where she opened it and took out a textbook, "What do you have first?" she asked him.

"I got a free period." he answered.

"Ugh, lucky." Alex frowned, looking at her chemistry textbook in disgust. "Chemistry isn't even one of the classes I can take a nap in."

Justin laughed, "Well, I'm sure you'll survive." he said before closing her locker and pulling her in for a kiss that lasted a lot longer than the peck in the car.

Not long after Justin had backed Alex up onto her locker the bell rang to signal the start of school. They grudgingly pulled apart.

"See you at lunch." Justin said, backing away while Alex went to go in the other direction down the hallway.

"Bye." she replied before walking away.

Justin turned round to see his friends gathered round one of their lockers, both giving him the same wide eyes, raised eyebrow stare.

He walked up to join them, frowning at their identical expressions, "What?" he questioned when he reached them.

"Since when are you the kind of guy to make out with your girlfriend up against a locker?" Jake Manson, one of his friends asked.

"Come to mention it; since when did you _have_ a girlfriend?" Ben Green added. Justin had some other friends but Jake and Ben were his best friends. Jake liked to think of himself as the cool, funny guy – Justin kind of liked to think that he was what Max would be like if he was as smart as Jake. Ben was a bit more serious but not a total kill-joy. And Justin was kind of like a mix of the two.

"I met her last week in the library and I've been out with her a couple of times. Sorry, I forgot to mention it." Justin shrugged.

"Isn't Alex a Junior?" Ben asked.

Justin nodded, "Yeah, not that that's a problem. How do you know her name?"

Jake stepped forward and put his hand on his friend's shoulder, "Alex Santiago is one of the hottest girls in school and as you should know, being guys, we are well-informed about such things."

Ben rolled his eyes at Jake before speaking again, "So are you guys, like, together now or something? Serious?"

Justin nodded his head and smiled to himself, "Yeah. We're serious."

**A/N: How was that then? Did you like Justin's friends? It was longer than I expected it to be, I didn't think I'd be able to make it even as long as that. The next chap I think will be again with Justin and his friends when they're in the sub station, so it'll have Justin's parents in it too. So no Jalex in the next chap but there'll be some in the chap after that. I hope you liked this anyway so please REVIEW!**

**Smiley Ciara XxX :)**


	5. Awkward

**A/N: Hiiiiiii there! Thanks for the reviews! SelenaFanatic, Alycea and whoever that guest was that posted that weird thing about the girl that was murdered (I'm still alive, of course), I found that pretty stupid but hey, thanks for bringing the review numbers up lol. This chap is basically what the title says – awkward. Well, for Justin anyway. This is like, serious teen embarrassment for him; all attention is on him and his love life. I hope you find it kind of funny though, it's not a serious chap. OK, well I can't think of anything to ramble on about so please read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

* * *

Justin was in his parent's Sub Station with his friends. They were talking whilst studying (of course, with them all being very academic).

Jake threw his pen down, "Ha! I told you I'd finish first!" he cheered smugly to Ben, who rolled his brown eyes.

"I was trying to make mine legible." he excused himself.

"Legible shemgible. Face it Green, you lost." Jake smirked.

Only Justin would have friends that race to finish an equation. Justin himself just shook his head and chuckled; he knew how competitive Jake was and knew not to take him on. He'd either be irritatingly smug if he won or be a very sore loser.

"What you laughing at, Russo? Think you can take me on?" Jake questioned confidently.

"No, I'm not going there again." Justin shook his head.

"Y'know," Ben started, "we should feel honoured you're actually hanging out with us right now."

Justin frowned, "What?"

Ben continued with a smirk, "Oh, y'know, just considering probably the hottest girl in school is now your girlfriend and she's, like, completely in love with you."

"Girlfriend?"

At this moment, Justin's mom decided to walk by their table, overhearing their conversation. Justin cringed, knowing this was most likely going to be embarrassing.

"Mom, what have I told you about eavesdropping?" Justin turned to look up at his mom, trying to give her a look that said 'go away _now_ and I'll talk to you later'. Theresa obviously chose to ignore this.

"Sorry, but why didn't you say you had a girlfriend?" she asked, visibly getting excited.

"I thought you knew – it's not like I've not told you about Alex." Justin answered.

"Oh sorry sweetie, I didn't realise Alex was a girl! You should have specified." Theresa told her son.

"Oh right, cos I was totally referring to a guy when I put on my best shirt and said 'I'm taking Alex out tonight'." Justin said sarcastically, so wishing he wasn't having this conversation right now in front of his friends (who were finding this all very amusing by the way).

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I guess I wasn't really paying attention." Theresa apologised, before her excited grin reappeared on her face, "So what's she like?"

Justin couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face at the thought of his girlfriend, "She's great. But can we talk about this later? Please?"

Theresa nodded but Jake couldn't help but take this opportunity to embarrass his friend a little more, "Seriously, she's awesome but I'll give you a hint Mrs Russo; it takes them at least five minutes to say goodbye."

"Dude!" Justin hissed, whacking his smirking friend on the arm.

"Hey, what are we talking about?" Max chose to enter the conversation, joining the small group that seemed to be gradually expanding whilst simultaneously making it more and more awkward for Justin.

"Justin's girlfriend." Theresa informed her other son.

"Please, invite dad over; complete the family why don't you?" Justin grumbled, though no one listened.

"Oh, yeah, Alex. She's really cool. But maybe you should give Justin that talk you and dad just gave me last week. Y'know, just in case." Max said. He wasn't purposely making things worse for Justin but sometimes Max just didn't have a filter and parts of his brain didn't seem to connect (that was Justin's current theory).

"Oh my _god_." Justin groaned, putting his head in his hands and wishing the ground would swallow him up. At this point, Jake and Ben couldn't hold it in and they burst out into a fit of laughter – they felt a little bad for him but, hey, it was funny.

"OK well I think I should get back to work, you too Max." his mom said, finally taking the hint and deciding Justin had been embarrassed enough. For now, anyway.

When they walked away, Jake and Ben's laughter was just calming down. Justin simply glared at them, "I really hate you guys right now."

"We're sorry man, we couldn't help it." Ben apologised, still smiling and eyes watery from laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Justin mumbled.

* * *

A few hours later and the Sub Station had shut and Justin was in the loft on the sofa, watching TV. His parents were in the kitchen, clearing away the dishes from dinner while Max was upstairs in his room. Theresa had obviously filled her husband, Jerry, in on the conversation earlier.

"Justin?" his mom asked, causing Justin to turn his head to look at her. "Can we talk to you?"

Justin sighed and got up off the sofa to walk up to the counter and stand on the opposite side to his parents, "Yeah?"

"You wanna tell us about Alex?" Jerry asked his eldest son.

"What do you want to know?" Justin asked in response, leaning on the counter.

"Where did you meet her?" Theresa asked.

"In the library. I had a free period and she was skipping class. I though I was still talking to Max and somehow I ended up going out with her after school." he shrugged.

"She was skipping class?" Jerry questioned. He wouldn't have imagined Justin would be associated with people who skip class or have a lack of respect for school rules.

Justin let out a laugh, "Yeah. School isn't really Alex's 'thing'."

His parents just nodded before continuing with their investigation.

"Is she in any of your classes?" Jerry quizzed.

Justin shook his head, "No. She's a Junior."

"Oh, so she's a year younger than you?" Jerry asked, now surprised that his son was not only dating a rebel but she was also younger than him.

"Yeah, not that that's a problem. I mean, it's only a year." Justin replied casually.

"Right." Theresa nodded. "So... when can we meet her?"

Justin chuckled, "I don't know. I guess I can bring her back here after school tomorrow if you want?"

"That sounds good." Jerry smiled.

Justin was about to go back to the sofa but his mom asked another question, "Do you like her?"

Justin smiled and looked down for a second before he looked back up to meet his parents eyes, "Yeah. I really do." was his reply before he joked, "So if you guys seriously embarrass me I won't be happy."

Jerry and Theresa laughed before Theresa answered, "We'll try not to."

Justin laughed before he went back to the sofa but before he could sit down, Jerry couldn't help but ask one more question, "Uh, Justin? Do we, uh, have to have y'know, the _talk_ with you again, or...?" he asked awkwardly.

Justin choked a little on air before replying in the same awkward manner, "No, trust me I do not need that talk again. It, uh, came in useful with my last girlfriend if y'know what I mean." he said, deciding to just clarify his, uh, status.

His parents nodded before quickly turning back around to finish the dishes while Justin sat down and cringed. This afternoon had been awkward and embarrassing to say the least.

**A/N: Poor Justin – did you feel embarrassed for him? I was writing it and I did. So this was a totally Justin chap but don't fear, Alex will be in the next one as obviously she's going to meet his parents. I'll probably do a little bit on Justin properly meeting Alex's but maybe not a huge long chap (depends on how much I can write though – sometimes these things just flow and you can't stop). Cos I need to get things moving. Whilst they're teenagers I gotta do quite a bit – I gotta do their first time sleeping together, the 'I love yous's and Justin's graduation. So yeah, I'm gonna try and do that in the next, I don't know, five-ish chaps? OK, well, if you enjoyed THIS chap then please REVIEW!**

**Smiley Ciara XxX :)**


	6. Keeper

**A/N: Yo yo yo! Again, thank you very much for the reviews! Kktavares, Guest, AnayaTheWriter, Alycea and anyone else! OK so this chap is where Alex meets Justin's parents. They've only been going out about a week at this point but of course they are serious and completely smitten with each other. I hope it'll be quite sweet and maybe a little funny. So, I shall let you read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

* * *

Justin stopped his car and him, Max and Alex got out of his car. Max went on ahead while Justin and Alex stood next to his car.

"Is there anything I should know? Like a subject not to bring up or something? Cos one time I started talking about how much I love bacon to a Jewish family." Alex said, making Justin laugh.

"I don't think there's anything. I'm not Jewish if that helps." he joked.

"Well that's something." she laughed. "Should we go in now?"

"Yeah just one minute." he replied and before she could reply he pulled her in for a kiss to which she gladly responded.

Eventually they decided they had to pull apart and Justin took her hand as they entered the Sub Station. Justin took Alex up to the counter where his parents where currently situated and hadn't noticed their presence yet.

"Mom? Dad?" Justin asked, getting their attention.

Jerry and Theresa turned at the sound of their son's voice and instantly smiled when they saw his guest.

"Well Justin, aren't you going to introduce us?" Theresa prompted.

"Alex these are my parents. Mom, dad, this is Alex." he introduced, gesturing to each with his hand.

"Hi." Alex smiled with a small wave.

"Hi, I'm Jerry and this is my wife Theresa." Jerry replied.

"Nice to meet you." Alex said politely.

"You too. I would love to talk more but we're working for another hour or so. But you two can take a table if you want?" Theresa suggested. She could've told them to go upstairs but she couldn't help but want to watch them. That was a good way to see what a relationship was like – see what they were like when it was just them and not all attention focused on them.

"Yeah sure." Justin agreed before leading Alex to a booth in the back, out of the way of most customers.

Jerry looked at his wife, "So, first impressions?"

"She seems nice. Justin forgot to mention she was so pretty though." Theresa answered, an excited grin on her face.

"Yeah, Justin's a lucky guy." Jerry agreed.

At the booth, Justin and Alex were talking.

"Do you think they like me?" Alex asked.

"Course they do." Justin assured her, slinging his arm behind her and kissing the side of her head.

Alex smiled before it turned into a smirk, "Just wait 'til you have to meet my parents. Properly, I mean."

"Can I not think about that now?" Justin groaned playfully.

"Alright, I'll shut up about for now." she smiled mischievously before she leaned up to kiss him. Now Justin hadn't planned or wanted to make out with Alex in front of his parents but it was _really_ hard to pull away.

Jerry leaned over to mumble in his wife's ear, "Well I'm glad Justin's already had the talk."

Theresa frowned before glancing over her shoulder to see the young couple; it was quite an unusual sight for them as it wasn't something Justin would normally do. They thought it wasn't really his style but apparently they thought wrong.

She turned back around, "Maybe I should've let them go upstairs."

* * *

An hour later and Justin and Alex were now upstairs and his parents were closing up shop. Max was sitting on the sofa eating a tub of ice cream while Justin and Alex sat watching him devour it.

"Uh, Max? You know we haven't even had dinner yet?" Justin questioned, wondering how he hadn't gotten a brain freeze yet.

"Haven't you heard of starters?" Max asked once he'd swallowed a mouthful, wincing slightly at how cold it was.

Alex burst out laughing at his reply, "Wow, I've finally found someone that shares my logic."

Max winced again and rubbed his head. Justin sighed, "Max did you get a brain freeze?"

"No, the ice cream was just so cold it made my head hurt." the younger brunette groaned. Justin rolled his eyes – even if Max didn't know what a brain freeze was he would've though it'd be pretty self explanatory.

Alex let out another laugh before Jerry and Theresa came upstairs.

"Max! What have I told you about eating dessert before dinner?" Theresa scolded Max.

"Mom it's fine! Look, I'm done." he showed her the empty tub and she rolled her eyes. She looked at Justin, "Couldn't you have stopped him?"

Justin shrugged, "I tried."

"What's for dinner? I'm starving!" Max exclaimed.

Jerry and Theresa looked at each other and shook their heads.

"So, Alex," Theresa started, "tell us about yourself."

* * *

Eventually Justin had taken Alex home and now he was back at his house and was about to go to bed.

"Justin?" he heard his dad ask from behind him.

He turned to him, "Yeah?"

"Just to say that, you've done good with Alex. She's a keeper." his dad smiled.

Justin smiled back, "Yeah, I know."

**A/N: So how did you like that? Hope it was OK. I swear I've never done so many long chaps before; normally I always write really short chaps but since I have to squeeze a lot into this story within the first 10 or so chaps, I guess the chaps have to be long. Well, anyway I hope you liked this chap, so please drop a little review down below!**

**Also noticed some of my older stories have been getting quite a few follows and stuff recently so if anyone doing that is reading this then thanks!**

**Smiley Ciara XxX :)**


	7. Not Her Usual Type

**A/N: Sup guys! Thanks y'all for the reviews! Capt John Price, AnayaTheWriter, Alycea, Guest, Kktavares and anyone else! Right then, this chap will again be pretty long and involve a bit of Justin and Alex at school, a bit with friends and a bit with Justin meeting Alex's parents; so yeah, a lot in one chap. The first two parts will be shorter than Justin meeting the parents part. I just want to get the story moving. So I won't say no more and let you read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

* * *

"Ah, English. I like English." Alex commented as she and Justin arrived outside of her class, hand in hand.

"Really?" Justin asked, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Yeah; comfy desks and the teacher knows to ignore me." she replied.

Justin nodded, now fully understanding what she meant, "Ah, of course."

She nudged him as she leaned against the wall, "Shut up. What else would you expect?"

"Guess you got a point." Justin answered cheekily, pulling her in for a kiss.

The sound of a throat being cleared broke them apart and they turned to see her English teacher, Mrs Darwin, giving them a pointed stare with a raised eyebrow, "This is a school corridor not one of your teenage shindigs so if you don't mind..." She was slightly surprised that an intelligent, responsible boy like Justin had ended up with Alex but to be honest, she didn't care much for what went on in her students personal lives.

"Sorry Miss." Justin muttered as he stepped back form Alex and said bye before walking off to his own class. Alex just walked into the class, wearing a small smirk.

* * *

"I lost out on precious beauty sleep thanks to you. Mrs Darwin's punishment for PDA apparently is asking me nearly every question and making me the focus of her attention." Alex grumbled as they walked to her locker.

"You don't need beauty sleep; you're beautiful enough already." Justin replied dramatically – that was cheesy and he knew it.

"Cute." Alex simply said before she opened her locker to shove her books in.

"Hey." they heard a voice and looked to see Ben and Jake standing there.

"Hey guys." Justin greeted his friends.

"Hi." Alex smiled, still taking things in and out of her locker, occasionally checking her reflection in the little mirror she had in there.

"So Justin, you still hanging with us during your free period next?" Ben asked.

"Yeah. Alex has to go to class anyway." Justin replied.

"Well, I don't _have_ to go." Alex said, not wanting to go to math.

"Actually, _yes_ you do." Justin chuckled, kissing the side of her head, "I'll catch you later." he said.

"Bye." she said before he walked off with his friends.

"I think Alex is really cool." Ben commented.

"Yeah, she is." Justin agreed with a grin.

"Her friends are pretty hot too. Think you could hook me up?" Jake added, causing both Justin and Ben to roll their eyes – typical Jake.

* * *

Justin was just dropping Alex off at her house (Max was hanging out at a friend's so he didn't have him in the car too).

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Justin asked.

"Actually, I thought you could come in? Say hi to my parents?" she asked hopefully, wanting to get it out of the way.

"Do I not even get to prepare?" he groaned.

Alex laughed, "Just come on!" she got out of the car and Justin followed suit.

They walked in the house and Alex yelled, "I'm home!", announcing her presence.

Louisa walked out of the kitchen, "Hi honey." she said before smiling when she saw who she'd brought with her, "Justin, nice to see you again." she greeted him.

"Nice to see you too." Justin answered politely.

"Come through to the living room, make yourself at home." Louisa ushered them in.

"I am at home." Alex scoffed, walking into the living room and flopping down on the sofa, as Justin followed and sat down next to her.

"So, how's your day been?" Louisa asked them.

"Pretty good."

"_Boring!"_

The pair answered at the same time and I think you can guess who said what.

"Alex do you have to say that _everyday_?" her mom asked with a sigh.

"I'm answering your question honestly. Would you rather I lied and told you I love nothing better than a bunch of old people telling me what to do all day?" she replied.

"It's kind of their job to do that." Justin pointed out.

"Oh yeah, of course _you_ stick up for them. They _love_ you." Alex rolled her eyes, putting her feet up on the coffee table.

"Do they?" Louisa asked out of curiosity.

"Course they do; he's _way_ too smart for an 18 year old." Alex answered.

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" Justin asked.

"Well, maybe Justin's good grades will rub off on you Alex." Louisa smiled, nudging her daughter's feet of the table.

Alex snorted, "Good luck with that." before she got up and went into the kitchen to get herself a drink. This left Justin alone with Louisa.

"So, no offence, but you're not Alex's usual type." Louisa commented.

Justin chuckled, "Yeah, I figured that. I could say the same about Alex. But I guess our type wasn't really working out for us before."

"Yeah... well, I'm very happy you're dating my daughter. And ignore Karl's scary dad act, I can tell he likes you too." she smiled.

"Well thanks. That means a lot." Justin thanked her politely.

Alex then walked back into the room with a bottle of water and sat down next to Justin.

"So, what are we talking about?" she asked.

"Nothing really. I'll just go start dinner. Justin, are you staying?" Louisa asked him.

"Uh, yeah sure. Why not?" Justin replied.

Louisa grinned and walked back into the kitchen, but not before glancing back to see Justin put his arm around Alex as they relaxed into the sofa while she snuggled into his side. The older woman couldn't help but smile before she looked away to walk into the kitchen. 

**A/N: Not a bad length I would say. I could've made it longer, but tbh, I couldn't be bothered. I felt that was enough for this chap. They next chap is gonna be like a month later, to see how their relationship has progressed in a few weeks. OK, so I hope you liked that and please REVIEW! **

**Smiley Ciara XxX :)**


	8. Love

**A/N: Why hello guys! Thanks again for the reviews! Kktavares, Alycea, Margaret, HarryHermioneEdwardBella and anyone else! This chap is a little Jalex-y chap – OK, a lot Jalex-y – and hope you'll like it. It's pretty short but the next couple of chaps will be short and then I'll have some more of them super long chaps that I've been writing lately. Well, I shall now let you lovely readers do your thing and read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

* * *

It was a month later and, of course, Justin and Alex were still together and getting stronger and closer everyday. They hadn't said it yet but everyone knew they were completely in love with each other – it was like they'd been together for years. They'd already forgotten how to live without each other. Their parents were also very happy for them; Alex's parents loved Justin, and Justin's loved Alex. There was just something about them and you could tell it wasn't just some sappy teenage romance fuelled by hormones – you could tell it was real and that it meant something.

The infamous couple were currently in 'Mel's Café' – the same one they went to on their first date. They liked it so much so it was probably their favourite place to go. It was like _their_ place.

"I can't believe you get to graduate before me." Alex was saying.

"Well sorry for being born a year earlier." Justin replied, laughing at his own use of sarcasm.

Alex nudged him with her shoulder, which was easy since she was sitting right up against his side, "Dork." she chuckled before she started fiddling with a napkin, looking like she was thinking of something.

Justin picked up on this and put his arm around her shoulders, "Hey, you don't have to worry. Just because I'll be in college doesn't mean things between us will change."

Alex nodded and turned her head to look at him, "Yeah, I know it won't but you can't blame me for thinking it. Besides, I get to tell people I'm dating a college guy." she smirked at the end.

Justin laughed again, "Yeah, I guess that's something." he then just watched her as she took a sip of her drink and he played with a strand of her hair, "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?"

"Uh yeah; several times." Alex replied with a giggle.

"Good, cos it's true." he kissed the side of her head. "My parents are going to their friends' wedding anniversary party on Saturday." Justin said out of nowhere.

"Oh, do you have to go with them?" Alex asked.

"No, I don't really know them and Max has a baseball game all day." Justin continued.

"Oh, so it's just you? So, you wanna go out or something?" she suggested, thinking that's what he was getting at.

"Uh, I was kind of thinking we could stay in. I mean, I do have the house to myself..." he trailed off, clearly hinting at something.

Alex now seemed to pick up on this hint, "Oh, yeah, so you do..." she nodded, a small smirk growing on both their faces. "So, uh, how long will they be out?"

"I don't know, pretty much all day I guess." he answered.

Alex nodded approvingly, "Great." was all she said before she leaned in and closed the gap.

* * *

_Saturday evening_

Alex let out a small yawn as she opened the fridge in the Russo household, wearing one of Justin's shirts and a blissful smile. She took out a can of soda, closed the fridge and turned around to see Justin standing at the bottom of the spiral stairs in only sweats and no shirt, wearing a similar smile to hers on his face, although his was slightly more of a smirk.

"Are you staring?" Alex asked, an eyebrow raised as she took a sip of her soda.

"Maybe." was Justin's reply before he made his way over to her in the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind before snatching her soda to take a sip.

"I wish your parents and Max were out all night." she sighed, turning her head to look up at him.

"Yeah, me too." he agreed, leaning down to steal a quick kiss before resting his chin on her shoulder, "But we should probably get dressed soon and you should think about leaving just to be safe."

"Yeah I guess." Alex agreed before they just stood there, not moving. "Well, I'm guessing that's not going to happen anytime too soon since you aren't letting go."

Justin laughed, turning his head to place a light kiss on her neck, "Y'know I love you, right?"

A smile grew on Alex's face before she replied, "Yeah, and I love you too."

Justin grinned and turned her round to face him, "OK, now I _really_ wish my family were out all night." he said, and Alex let out a giggle when he kissed her again.

**A/N: Did you guys like that? Wasn't my best but I've been writing more future chaps so I really just had to go back and get these ones done. The next chap will probably be a little short one, just of Justin's graduation and it should have some cute Jalex moments. And after that we'll move onto when they're older. OK, well if you want more, please REVIEW!**

**Smiley Ciara XxX :)**


	9. Justin's Graduation

**A/N: Hola! Again, thank you for the reviews! Alycea, Kktavares, Guest, SelenaFanatic and anyone else! This chap is pretty short I think and it's, as the title says, Justin's graduation. I hope it's kind of cute. It's a sort of filler chap but it also isn't? I dunno, but this is the last chap of them as teenagers anyway. So, yeah, read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

* * *

Alex watched as her boyfriend made his speech as valedictorian. He was graduating and Alex alongside his parents was feeling very proud of him. Alex's parents were there too since they actually got on very well with Jerry and Theresa. They'd been going out now for just over 3 months and they were still totally solid.

After the ceremony, all the new graduates separated and went back to their proud families only to receive endless hugs from their weeping mothers and take what must be close to a million photographs. They all just wanted to go to the after party. Especially Alex since she managed to get in thanks to dating valedictorian.

"Oh Justin I am _so_ proud of you!" Theresa exclaimed, enveloping him in a bone crushing hug.

"Yeah, she hasn't stopped crying." Jerry added, waiting for his wife to let go of him so he could give his eldest son a hug himself.

"Geez, a rainforest must be killed every year from the amount of tissues used at these things." Alex looked around at the plethora of crying people.

Louisa nudged her daughter, "Alex! Be more sensitive; I will be one of those crying mothers next year."

"Yeah and I'll be crying too! Y'know, tears of joy." Alex snorted.

"Aw Alex, we all know you're going to miss this place so much when you have to leave." Justin had finally been released and replied to Alex's comments sarcastically whilst also pinching her cheek.

She swatted his hand away and laughed. He was about to lean in and kiss her when his dad spoke up and interrupted them.

"Hey, you can save all that for the after party."

"Yeah, we got pictures to take." Theresa grinned, snapping a quick photo with the flash almost blinding them.

* * *

A couple of hours later and the after party was in full swing. There was talking and shouting and dancing and music and laughing and, of course, some drinking too. Alex had always wanted to go to a senior party but now it was even better because these people weren't even seniors anymore. And even better than that? She was in love with one of them and he was in love with her too.

"OK enough of that." Justin said, taking Alex's drink out of her hand and handing it to some random guy that walked buy, who cheered before gulping It down as he walked away.

"Oh come on! Can't I have _any_ fun?" Alex whined.

"Yeah, but your parents aren't gonna like me very much if I let you get wasted after getting you into a party where you're the youngest person here. You're lucky they agreed to let you come." he told her.

"Yeah, they let me come because they _trust_ you and know you won't let anything bad happen to me." Alex said wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling at him.

He grinned back at her, his arms snaking around her waist, "That is true." he said before leaning in and crashing his lips onto hers. His life felt pretty good right now – he'd just graduated and was valedictorian none-the-less, he had a place at a great college that wasn't too far from his home so he could still see his family and to top it off he had the most beautiful girl in the world as his girlfriend.

It was a while before they pulled apart and when they did, Justin leaned his forehead on hers and looked into her eyes.

"Y'know I love you, right?" he asked with a smirk. He always said that to her – nearly every time he told her he loved her he asked it it that way.

"Oh do you now?" she asked playfully.

"Yeah. Always have, always will."

**A/N: That moment when the story title is in the story! Did you enjoy that? Think it was cute? I was storming ahead with my writing and then I realised I forgot to finish this chap so I went back and finished it and this was the end result! The next chap will be five years later though and, I hate to break it to you but... it's the break up chap. Yeah, not so fun but it has to happen. Anyway, please REVIEW!**

**Smiley Ciara XxX :)**


	10. Broken

**A/N: What's up?! Thanks for the reviews! Kktavares, Alycea, smileysteph, guest123 (I get what you meant about him not loving her before he knew her but I meant he loved her from the moment he met her. Yeah, but I loved your reviews so THANKS!). Well this chap is set five years later and – spoiler alert! - it's the break up chap. It's pretty harsh but I had to do it. It felt awful writing this but at the same time it was kinda fun. Justin is 23 and Alex is 22 btw. So, I'm just gonna let you guys get on with it now and read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

* * *

_Five Years Later_

A 22 year old Alex sighed as she flipped through the TV channels, not finding anything interesting.

A few minutes later she heard the door shut and turned to see her boyfriend walk into the room.

"Hey." Justin greeted her.

"Hey." she replied, "Home a little late, aren't we?"

"I had to finish something at college and then I went out with my friends. Not a problem, is it?" he asked with a hint of attitude in his voice.

"No of course not. I was only asking." she answered as he sat down next to her on the sofa.

Yes, Justin and Alex were still together and even got an apartment together a couple of years ago. They were both in college now – Alex doing fashion and Justin had decided on journalism, surprising those who thought he'd go down the more scientific route.

Even though five years had past they had stood the test of time. Many times they had talked, dreaming up their future together which even involved marriage and kids. It all seemed so perfect.

But recently things hadn't been going all that perfect. Both were caught up in college stuff, different friends, jobs and things seemed to be taking their toll as they weren't as close lately – more cold and they bickered a lot. At college they also had their own friends and some were of the opposite gender which added jealousy onto the list of things that were causing tension. Normally they weren't the jealous type but all the stress and the fact they weren't familiar with their friends brought it out in them. It was their first rough patch – and they didn't like it.

A moment of silence passed before Justin spoke up again, "So, how was your day?"

Alex shrugged, "Nothing out of the ordinary. But Ethan told the funniest story at lunch." she began to smile as she thought of it, just about ready to explain the story to Justin.

"Of course he did." Justin rolled his eyes. He had never met Ethan, only seen him from a distance when he picked up Alex from college. Apparently he was a good friend of Alex's as she always seemed to mention him and talk about how _nice_ and _funny_ he is. Justin didn't know the guy, but he didn't like him. At all.

"Ugh, not this again. He's just a friend! He knows all about you." Alex said, annoyed while she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I know; he's your _hilarious_ friend." Justin sulked.

Alex frowned, "I seriously can't believe you're this childish. You have _no _reason to be jealous because do you know the reason _why_ he knows all about you? It's because I'm _always_ talking about you." she snapped, clearly irritated.

"Whatever. And you have no right to get pissed off at _me_ about being jealous." he shot back.

"Oh any excuse to bring up _her_!" Alex crossed her arms and slouched on the sofa like a child in a huff.

"_Her_ name is Kate and she's a friend and I would never even look at her in that way." Justin told her straight, tired of having this conversation. This was one argument that they often had; it wasn't even always about Kate and Ethan, it was about their other friends. They also argued about being out too much, not spending enough time with the other, not considering the other person's feelings etc. They had good days but lately they seemed to have less and less of those.

Alex simply let out one last huff before they sat in silence. They always tried to stop the argument before it went too far; before they said something they would really regret. They did still love each other very much, nothing would change that but other things seemed to be getting in the way of that.

"I'm gonna go get a shower." Justin said quietly, giving Alex a peck on the cheek before he got up and walked into their bedroom.

Alex shut her eyes and took in some deep breaths as she tried to hold back the tears. She could feel that they were at breaking point but she desperately didn't want that to happen. She hoped that they would get through this but she had a feeling, as did he, that they pushed to the back of their minds. They had a feeling that the strains of real life and the future might break them.

* * *

_Two weeks later_

Justin stood outside the door to his apartment. He was trying to work up the courage to go in. He had something to tell Alex and wasn't sure how she'd take it. Would she be happy for him? Would she get upset? For him it was good news; a new exciting opportunity after he'd left college, which is what both him and Alex had been thinking about. In a couple of weeks they would no longer be college students so they were thinking about what they were going to do – where they would go.

Eventually he took a deep breath in and opened the door before he walked into the kitchen seeing that Alex wasn't in the living room.

She was in the kitchen, making herself a cup of tea and fiddling with a letter in her hand.

"Hey." he greeted her, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her in for a kiss. So far they'd been having a good day, so Justin was hoping this would work to his advantage.

"Hey." she gave him a small smile. "How was college?"

"Yeah good; I'm pretty much done so nothing stressful." he answered. "But I did get told something today." he added.

"Well I have something to say too but you can go first." she told him.

He didn't think much of it, so he continued, "Well, I actually got a job offer, for when I've left college."

"Really? That's great!" Alex replied, not sounding completely over the moon.

"Yeah, and there's another thing. Now, this might sound scary and you might not like the idea at first but this could be a good thing for us." he said, and she didn't say anything as she waited for him to continue. "Well, you see, the job it's... it's in Miami." he finished, letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in.

Alex's eyes widened, "Miami?...Look Justin, I think I should tell you-"

"It's alright, I get that this is a big thing but look at it this way," he started to ramble before she could disagree, "this could be good for us – a new start. I know we've been having some problems because we're both stressed out and our lives are pretty crazy right now. And this job is the perfect job; it's seriously amazing and I know you'll love Miami-"

"Justin I can't go with you to Miami!" Alex cut him off, shouting slightly as he didn't look to be shutting up any time soon.

Justin stopped and looked at her, a mixture of confusion and hurt in his eyes, "What? Just like that you're saying no? You're not even going to give it a chance for me?"

Alex sighed, "Read this." she handed him the letter that she'd been holding onto.

He frowned slightly as he took it and unfolded the crisp white paper. She watched as he scanned the letter and the look of confusion left his eyes, "You got a job in L.A.?" he asked quietly.

She nodded, "Yeah. I applied a little while ago but I forgot, thinking I wouldn't get it but then I got the letter a couple of days ago and..."

"Wait; a couple of _days_ ago?" Justin questioned, suddenly getting a little angry. "You got this days ago and you didn't think to tell me? Wait, no, let me rephrase that; you _applied_ for this _ages_ ago and you didn't even mention it? And then when you get the job you wait a couple of days to tell me?" he started getting louder.

"Well, sorry but I couldn't think how to tell you. I don't see why it matters that much, I'm telling you know, aren't I?" she shot back.

They stood in silence then, their good day having turned bad. Justin looked at the letter again, "Can't they transfer you?"

"What?" Alex asked.

"Y'know, to Miami. I'm sure a big company like this has a branch in different cities." Justin explained.

Alex let out a cold laugh, "Oh, so you expect me to give up my dream job in a dream location _just_ so you can still get your job?"

"It'll still be the same job, just in a different place." Justin shrugged, not seeing why it was a big deal.

"Oh, then why don't _you_ transfer to L.A.?" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well my company's main office is based in Miami; it's far better than the office in L.A." Justin told her.

Alex shook her head in disbelief, "I never had you down as selfish. So you think it's OK for _me_ to work in the smaller, shittier and less successful branch in Miami just so _you_ can be happy? What makes your dream better than mine? Oh, is this because you're smarter than me? Because you get some fancy degree in journalism that allows you to speak to people and 'make the world a better place' while all I can do is make a pretty dress?" she asked loudly, now furious.

"No! I never said that!" Justin exclaimed.

"You didn't have to." she glared. "When do you have to leave?"

"Next week." he replied.

"Wrong." she smirked, pushing past him to their bedroom.

He frowned and followed her, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Alex laughed bitterly as she threw a bag onto the bed, "You're leaving now. _Tonight_."

He let out a laugh himself, "What?"

"I'm going to L.A. and you're going to Miami and being an ass. So add that to _everything_ else that's wrong with our relationship and I think you're smart enough to work out why you're leaving." she replied sarcastically.

He watched as she took some of his shirts out of their wardrobe and threw them onto the bed, "Are you saying we're done?"

Alex stopped what she was doing to look at him. "Yeah." she said simply before she went back to shoving his things in the bag.

For a second Justin felt like his heart had stopped beating and had been brutally torn out of his chest but he quickly shoved that hurt to the side as he scoffed, "Good."

Alex looked at him again before she stopped what she was doing, "Y'know what? You can finish this yourself." she said, throwing one of his shirts at him before she went to walk out the door.

He caught the shirt and grumbled, "Whatever. And you call me the selfish one."

Alex stopped in her tracks and stepped back so she was next to him, "One more thing." she said and just as he'd turned to look at her, she slapped him; hard. He didn't flinch or look hurt, he just glared at her as she glared back before walking out of the room.

Justin felt so angry right then as he continued to pack his things. Sure, he felt really hurt but right now his anger was blocking that out. He opened a drawer filled with his things and emptied it, throwing everything into his bag, freezing when he saw the little box on top of his clothes. He picked it up, and opened it to see the silver ring with the small diamond still there. He had almost forgotten he'd bought it months ago before things started going wrong. He didn't know when he was going to give it to her, when it was the right time. But apparently after tonight, there was never going to be a right time. He looked at the ring for another moment before stuffing it into the bag.

Ten minutes later Justin had finished packing and he walked out of the bedroom, not seeing Alex anywhere. He headed towards the door and opened it before he heard her voice.

"Leaving?" she asked. He turned to see her leaning against the wall next to the entrance to the kitchen, which is where she must have been.

"Yeah. I'll probably stay with a friend and try to get an earlier flight to Miami. So don't worry, you'll never have to see me again." he told her bitterly.

She nodded, waiting a moment before she spoke again, "Well... bye." she said shortly.

"Yeah, bye." he replied, his heart breaking when he saw her glistening eyes; tears threatening to fall from those chocolate eyes that he loved dearly. Before he could see her cry he walked out the door and shut it behind him, bag slung over his shoulder. He couldn't stop the few tears that escaped as he made his way down the stairs and out of the building, punching a few walls as he went.

Back in the apartment Alex stood frozen for a minute before a choking sound escaped her mouth, and she couldn't stop the floods of tears falling from her eyes and hard sobs that shook her body as she slid down the wall until she was on the floor. She could literally feel her heart breaking in two as she cried and cried. Yes, she knew why they'd broken up and she stood by those reasons – this job, this opportunity was her time to shine, to excel in something she was good at. Time to put herself first, and a part of her hated Justin for wanting her to give up on that just so he could do that for himself while she took a back seat and did the next best thing.

But she couldn't help but be heartbroken at losing the person she could only describe as the love of her life. She couldn't even bring herself to say he _was_ the love of her life; past tense. Because she knew she'd be lying.

But this was going to be a new start for her. A new start for both of them.

**A/N: That was pretty sad wasn't it? I felt bad making it kinda harsh but I had to. They couldn't have had a nice, understanding break up and seen each other years later and instantly start where they left off. So I wanted them to be heartbroken, obviously and also have something that gave them a reason to resent the other - and that was that they were trying to stop the other from living their dream. The next chap will be five years later. So yeah, if you want more, REVIEW!**

**Smiley Ciara XxX :)**


	11. What Are You Doing Here?

**A/N: Hiya! Thank you very much for the reviews! Alycea, K. (CHECK OUT HER STORY 'WHAT'S NEXT'! Don't know if I've said that before but you should), Guest and anyone else! OK, now this is the chap five years later and they meet again! Justin is 28 and Alex is 27 and both back in New York. I hope this is OK; it's pretty long again btw. I'm so proud of myself for writing such long chaps! I just feel so inspired at the moment I'm writing this! I can't stop! Which is a bad thing cos at this current moment I'm about to start my prelims (mock exams) and I'm already seriously bad at school, due to the fact I've given up and the only reason I'm there is cos I don't have a job yet and don't want to go to college or uni. Anyway, I hope you like this, and read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

* * *

_Five years later_

Justin Russo was walking with his friend, Chase Ryder, down to his car. He was now 28 years old and back in New York after he'd gotten a job at GQ magazine **(Don't own, couldn't be bothered making up a name)** about a year and half ago. He had loved his time in Miami but when he got this offer, how could he refuse? And it meant he got to come home.

"Seriously, you're gonna love my other friends." Chase was saying to him. "You should be grateful I'm helping you in expanding your friendship circle. You've been in New York for over a year and aside from me, Mark, Emma and Tyler you've only got work acquaintances who you only say hi to and exchange small talk with."

"I can make my own friends, y'know." Justin said, unlocking his car as they both got in.

"Yeah, but it makes sense to be friends with people your current friends are already friends with." Chase replied.

"I guess you got a point." Justin agreed as they drove off to the bar they were meeting at. "So, what are they like?"

"Well most of the others are girls but they're really cool. And a couple of them are single so who knows? You might get lucky." Chase smirked.

"OK you can help me with friends but you stay out of my love life." Justin warned.

"Oh and one of the girls is kind of new too. She works with Amy as a fashion designer and has only been in New York for about eight months." Chase informed him. "Oh and heads up; she's seriously hot _and_ single._"_

Justin laughed, "What did I just say?"

"Yeah I know but I'm simply telling you." Chase replied.

They talked for the rest of the car journey before they reached the bar. Justin parked his car and they got out and walked in.

"Chase over here!" a female voice called. They turned to see a blond girl waving as she sat with Mark, Emma, Tyler and a blonde haired guy and a dark skinned, black haired girl. They walked over to the table to join them.

"Hey guys. Oh and Natalie, Tamara, Ryan, this is Justin." Chase introduced them. They all exchanged greetings while Chase went off to buy some drinks.

"There's still a couple to come by the way." Tamara, the black haired girl, told him.

Justin nodded before they started talking. Just about work really, introductions, Justin's time in New York, stuff like that.

"Ah, so you're actually from New York." Natalie, the blond, said.

"Yeah, I moved away because of a job five years ago but then GQ came along and I moved back." Justin explained.

"Wow, reminds me of someone we know." Mark commented.

"Who?" Justin asked.

"Oh, speak of the devil. Over here!" Mark waved to the two people that had just walked in; obviously they must have been the two that were still to come.

"So Justin this is Amy and Alex." Emma smiled, gesturing to the two girls that had just walked in.

Justin looked up and froze, eyes widening slightly. He thought he'd blocked all those memories and feelings out, that he'd never see her again, but apparently one glimpse of her and it all came flooding back. Alex looked like the mirror image of him as she too had stiffened and paled a little. She sat down slowly, fearing that if she didn't sit down she'd collapse.

Justin cleared his throat, "Hi." he said, trying to regain his composure, as Alex attempted to do the same.

"Hey! Nice to meet you." Amy grinned. She had short brown hair and green eyes.

"Hi." was all Alex said, looking like she'd seen a ghost.

"So I was just saying, Alex, that you and Justin are pretty similar. You both left New York five years ago to pursue a career, and now you're back." Mark said.

"Wow, what a coincidence." Alex replied, barely managing to let out a fake laugh.

"Yeah, but Alex was in L.A. while I was in Miami." Justin added.

"Yeah, exactly. Not that similar." Alex agreed, knowing he was trying to change the conversation.

"How did you know Alex went to L.A.?" Ryan questioned, while everyone else nodded, realising the same thing.

Alex froze again while Justin tried to cover, "Oh, I'm pretty sure I've heard you guys mention it before." he said.

"Really?" Chase asked, not remembering.

"Yeah, it was a while ago but I'm pretty sure you've mentioned it before." Justin reassured him, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"Oh... yeah, I guess so." Chase shrugged, thinking nothing more of it and the group started talking about something else, while Justin and Alex breathed silent sigh of relief.

A while later Justin decided it was his round and went up to the bar to buy some drinks. Alex quickly followed him, offering to help.

They reached the bar and Alex immediately spoke, apparently the shock had worn off, "What the _hell_ are you doing here?" she hissed.

"Well I live here. And have done so for longer than you." Justin replied. They were trying to look casual so their friends wouldn't be suspicious or ask any awkward questions.

Alex sighed in frustration, "_Why_ did we have to have the same friends?"

"I don't know, but we do so we just have to deal with it." Justin answered bluntly.

The bartender then came over to take their order and Justin told him.

"You remembered my favourite drink." Alex said quietly, once the bartender had gone to fetch their drinks.

Justin shrugged, "How could I not? I can still remember everything. Every detail; it's hard not to." he glanced over at her, unable to believe she had somehow gotten more beautiful. She looked more mature and she'd grown her hair out, it was now down to her waist and noticed a small tattoo on the side of her wrist.

She noticed how he'd matured too; he'd gotten more muscular, a scriptured tattoo was inked on both arms, the bottom parts visible below where his t-shirt sleeves stopped, his jawline more chiselled and he too had grown his hair out a little. It was always quite long in high school but mostly during college he'd kept it pretty short. She always liked it long because it felt better when she ran her fingers – wait! She had to stop thinking like that. Apparently she had forgotten how attractive he was as she couldn't help but feel a slight flutter in her stomach. She shoved all those feeling out of her mind, angry at herself for thinking like that.

"So, how was _Miami_?" she asked him, clearly still resenting him for what he'd said all those years ago.

"Yeah, it was great. Had the time of my life." he answered, a hint of smugness in his voice. "How was L.A.?"

"Oh yeah, _amazing_. It was the _greatest_ thing I've ever done in my life. If I hadn't have gone, I would've regretted it – it would've been the _biggest_ mistake of my _life_." she said, using emphasis to rub it in his face.

"Oh, well that's good." Justin said curtly, before paying the bartender and taking half the drinks back to their friends, while Alex huffed and took the other half.

The rest of the evening was spent with everyone talking, Justin and Alex ignoring each other and occasionally glaring. They others seemed to notice the tension but they mistook it for something else, which they found out later that night before they went home.

"OK girl – talk!" Natalie said excitedly to Alex as they were in the bathroom.

"About what?" Alex frowned, confused.

"Uh, duh! Justin! You are totally into him and I _think_ he likes you too! We could all _totally_ feel the sexual tension!" Amy practically sang.

"No!" Alex abruptly shouted, before she cleared her throat and tried to act a bit more normal, "I mean, no way. He's _so_ not my type. I actually get the impression he's a selfish, inconsiderate ass hole." she finished, frowning as she fixed her hair in the mirror.

"What? Justin is a great guy! He's nice, really smart and incredibly cute; what the hell is your problem?" Emma questioned, crossing her arms and tilting her head.

Alex shrugged, "Like I said, I just don't think he's my type. And I like to think of myself as a good judge of character."

"Well I'd think again if I were you." Tamara shook her head.

"Well you're single so why don't you go out with him?" Alex shot back at her.

"I have my eye on someone else, remember?" Tamara replied.

"Alright, whatever. Just to be clear though; me and Justin – _not_ gonna happen." Alex said, dead serious.

"Jeez, fine." Amy held up her hands in surrender before they walked out of the bathroom and said bye to the guys before they all made their way home.

But while the girls were in the bathroom, the guys had been having their own conversation with Justin.

"So, Justin, what do you think of Alex?" Ryan asked him suggestively, hinting.

Justin raised his eyebrow and shrugged, "Nothing special."

The guys widened their eyes and their eyebrows shot up as they had a chorus of 'What?' and 'Are you serious?'.

"Dude, Alex is like, so awesome! _And_ incredibly hot! Are you seriously saying you're not interested in her? At _all_?" Tyler asked incredulously.

Justin shrugged again, "I don't think she's my type. Not the kind of girl I would go out with." he explained himself, trying to remain casual. "And dude, you have a girlfriend." he added.

Tyler waved his hand, "It's fine, Emma said she's hot too. Y'know how females appreciate each other."

"But seriously?" Chase got back to the matter at hand, "I got the impression you were totally into her. I mean, you guys kept looking at each other." Chase said, confused.

"I think you'll find that was _glaring_." Justin corrected his brown haired friend.

"What's there to glare about? You just met." Mark asked.

"Uh, it's just a, uh, feeling. Y'know, when you meet someone and instantly know whether or not you like them. Well, I got that and... I don't like Alex." Justin answered, stuttering a little as he tried to think up a lie. He was never the most confident liar.

"OK, whatever dude." Ryan said, standing up to put on his jacket. They all got up then and went to walk out, saying bye to the girls as they left and headed home.

* * *

When Alex got back to her apartment, she shut the door and she slid down it staring straight ahead. She couldn't believe he was back in her life. It had taken her about a year to just about get over him (but she knew she never really would - another reason to hate him) and she didn't start dating again until two years after they broke up, but even then she'd never been in a serious, long term relationship. No one compared to _him_. Five years on and she was fine, her life was going really great. Sure moving back to New York was tough at first but how was she to know _he_ was back too? And now she had to hang out with him all the time because of their friends, so every time she saw him, old memories and feelings would be dragged up and... she wasn't sure she could handle it. Already she was crying. Great, she'd only seen him for a couple of hours and he was already making her cry!

She wiped her tears and took in a steady breath. She was _not_ going to let him get to her, she was going to deal with it and get on with her life and he could get on with his.

* * *

**A/N: So they meet again! How was that? Long, right? I hope you liked it anyway. The story will have no more time shifts, they are going to remain in this time for the rest of the story. Well, unless I go another year or two into the future in an epilogue or something. But generally, they will remain in this time. Oh, and if you got confused by the friends, here's a list of them below with rough descriptions:**

**Chase: Brown hair, brown eyes, tanned – dating Eva (you'll see her later on)**

**Mark: Short brown hair, blue eyes – dating (not made up a girlfriend)**

**Ryan: Blond hair, blue eyes – dating Natalie**

**Tyler: Black hair, blue eyes – dating Emma**

**Emma: Light brown hair, brown eyes – dating Tyler**

**Tamara: Black hair (medium length), brown eyes, dark skin – single**

**Natalie: Blond hair (just past her shoulders), blue eyes – dating Ryan**

**Amy: Short brown hair, green eyes – dating (not made up a boyfriend)**

**So yeah, that's the friends. Well, I hope you enjoyed that and if you want to read more; REVIEW!**

**Smiley Ciara XxX :)**


	12. Cut Deep

**A/N: Suuup! Thanks guys for the reviews! Alycea, Guest, NatnatJAlex, OriginallyUnknown, K. and anyone else! This chap is again all the friends hanging out (which will happen a lot btw) and things get a little awkward and even a little painful for the old love birds. I hope you enjoy this and read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

* * *

Alex paced back and forth in her living room, too stressed to keep still. She was waiting for Emma to pick her up as all the gang were getting together again, as they often did – only now Justin was a part of the gang. Justin; her ex boyfriend that she dated and was in love with for five years. Her ex boyfriend that basically asked her to choose between her future and him. She was still so angry whenever she thought of that night; a little bit sad but mostly angry. She'd rather be angry than sad.

She'd already decided that they were not going to be friends – she did not want to become one of those people who try and be friends with someone you loved that much. It was fine if during the relationship you knew it wasn't working out and you're best as friends but if you had what her and Justin had... it was a recipe for disaster. Especially since now he seemed to be an arrogant ass as well as a selfish bastard (Alex had accumulated plenty of names for him over the years, and more had very recently been added, but those were her favourites).

She knew their friends would find it weird and want to know a reason but they weren't going to get one. If they found out she'd never be able to even try and forget again; knowing her friends, they would bring it up all the time and ask all those awkward questions or try and get them back together and... no, she couldn't deal with that.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She shook her head, trying to get back to normal, hoping nothing out of the ordinary would happen tonight. She planned to ignore Justin and she hoped he would do the same to her.

She opened the door and greeted Emma with a smile, "Hey!"

"Hey! You ready?" she asked.

"Yeah." Alex replied, stepping out of her apartment and locking the door.

They walked down the stairs and out to Emma's car (it was easier if some shared cars instead of them all bringing their own. Besides, sometimes some of them had a few drinks too many).

"So, about that Justin thing..." Emma started.

"Can we just forget about that whole conversation? I just don't like him; end of story." Alex replied bluntly, her voice holding a sharp tone.

"Alright, alright." Emma surrendered, "but all I'm saying is-"

Alex rolled her eyes and scoffed, "You don't give in do you?"

Emma continued, "All I'm saying _is_ that he's not that bad and I think it's really immature and rude of you to judge him before you even know him. I mean, do you even know his full name?"

"Justin Vincenzo Pepé Russo." Alex muttered, unable to stop herself from letting out the same snort of laughter she always did whenever she heard or said his full name. I mean, Pepé practically makes fun of itself!

Emma frowned, taking her eyes off the road to glance at her friend for a moment, "Uh, how do you even _know_ that? Even I didn't know his middle names. Although I can see why he's never told me." Emma couldn't help letting out a laugh.

Alex shrugged, "I, uh, saw it on his drivers license when he was paying for those drinks the other night."

Emma nodded, believing Alex's lie, "Alright. But I think you should _actually_ get to know him before you decide whether or not you like him."

"Whatever." Alex grumbled. See? Her friends didn't even know about her and Justin's past and they wouldn't shut up about him!

They reached the bar and got out of her car before walking in, seeing everyone was already there.

"Evening ladies." Chase greeted them, while the rest of the group said their 'hello's.

"Hi guys." Alex smiled, before she let out a small groan when she noticed the only seat left was right next to Justin. She sat down and they gave each other an acknowledging glance before quickly looking away. They ordered some drinks and some food and talked and laughed, until what seemed to be a game of truths started.

"OK, this one is just for Justin and Alex." Mark started, "While you were away, how many people did you date?"

"What kind of question is that?" Alex asked.

"A decent one. C'mon, it's a pretty normal question to ask." Mark pushed.

Justin shrugged, "Dating wasn't my main priority while I was there."

"Oh come _on_ there had to be someone!" Ryan said.

"Well, yeah obviously there were some girls but honestly no one serious." Justin replied, starting to feel a little uncomfortable. Especially since he was sure he could feel Alex glaring at him.

"OK so you've not had a serous relationship in Florida, so surely that must mean you had one here in New York." Tamara smirked – she loved knowing everything about everyone. She was a very nosy person to be honest. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. Right now – it was a bad thing.

"Maybe." was his simple reply.

They were all silent, expecting him to say more, but he didn't.

"Uh, who? When? Or just any response at all?" Natalie asked.

Justin shook his head, "It doesn't matter."

"Well _someone_ had a bad break up." Emma muttered.

Justin rolled his eyes before her decided to get the spotlight off him, although he knew she would probably get him back for this, "So Alex, now it's your turn. Tell us about your romantic adventures in L.A." he turned to Alex, now seeing she really _was_ glaring at him.

"There's nothing really to tell. Just some guys here and there, some one night stands, nothing special." Alex answered, desperately wishing they could talk about something else because her plan to ignore Justin was being ruined by one stupid question.

"What about in New York?" Tyler questioned.

Alex narrowed her eyes, "I like to keep my love life private."

"Man, who the hell did you guys date?" Amy asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"Yeah, they must have cut you deep; left you scarred for life." Emma added, although she sounded a little tipsy.

"Yeah, yeah we each had a bad break up; who doesn't? Can we move on?" Justin snapped, grabbing his beer and taking a swig.

Alex sat there silent for another moment before she hastily got up and headed to the bathroom, looking upset. Everyone looked after her confused, although they looked more confused when Justin went after her.

"Alex." he groaned, getting up and following her.

Alex was just about to shut the bathroom door when Justin put his hand on it. She looked up at him, glaring with tears in her eyes.

"Justin just leave me alone!" she snapped, trying to shut the door and failing – she had forgotten how strong he was.

"Not yet. Look Alex, just ignore them, most of them were drunk. They'll probably never bring it up again." he said to her.

"Somehow I doubt that. But it doesn't matter because they're right." she said, still trying to shut the door – he didn't even look like he was trying!

"What do you mean?" Justin asked softly.

"You _know _what I mean. But I hope I cut you just as deep." she spat before he finally let her shut the door – or slammed, to be more specific, right in his face.

He let out a loud and frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. This wasn't going to get any easier.

**A/N: How was that then? This one took me a while to write, I kept getting writer's block, unsure of where it was going or what exactly was going to be said and done. The next chap will have Justin's parents seeing Alex again; which Justin does not find fun. So, yeah, now you may go to that box down the bottom and REVIEW!**

**Smiley Ciara XxX :)**


	13. Tell Me About It

**A/N: Hi guys! Thank you for the reviews! Alycea, K.T Skye, SelenaFanatic, NatnatJAlex, The Girl Who Loves Purple, Ydissbooksogood, Guest and anyone else! I actually think seven reviews is a record for this story, especially in only a few days, so big thanks! So this chap had Jerry and Theresa in it and they get to see Alex again. Should be fun, right? I hope you enjoy it and now you may read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

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Justin ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed, not looking forward to this afternoon. Him and all his friends were off work today and they, of course, wanted to hang out so Justin told them they could come to his parents Sub Station, which is where he was now, regretting his decision. When he made the offer, he stupidly forgot something very important – or rather _someone_.

Alex.

He now realised he was about to bring his ex girlfriend back to his parent's place along with all his other friends who were still clueless about their past.

Yeah, he wasn't looking forward to this.

His parents didn't know he was kind of back in contact with Alex. He wasn't sure how they'd react. His parents loved Alex and were upset when they broke up and Justin moved away only a day after he'd told them about the break up and the job, leaving them even more sad at the suddenness of it all. They thought they were being silly and childish and didn't know why they gave up so easily, going on about how long distance isn't always a bad thing and how it can work if you actually love each other. It was only them and Justin's old friends, Ben and Jake, who he hadn't seen in a long time, that knew how hard he took the break up. He wasn't himself for a long time, and even with his amazing new job it took him a while to cheer up a little instead of pretending to be happy and putting up a front whenever he was with anyone.

But he knew his parents still wished they could try again, but luckily for Justin they gave up nagging him once they realised they were in different states and had no idea where the other was or what they were doing or anything. But now that she was back and he not only knew where she was but had to see her nearly everyday... well, his parents were going to _love_ this. He's hoping they think he's too old to have his parents have a say in his live life. But first he had to tell them about the current situation and warn them not to let their friends know about anything.

"Hey, uh, mom, dad?" he asked while they were both in the kitchen area.

"Yeah, son?" Jerry asked.

"I need to tell you something about one of my friends – well, I wouldn't really use the word 'friend' but anyway, I need you to do something for me." he said to them.

"Is it a girl? Don't worry, we won't embarrass you, honey." Theresa smiled.

"No mom it's not a girl. Well, it _is_ but trust me it's nothing like that. See, one of my friends is-"

"Alex?" Theresa asked, slightly shocked. Justin frowned wondering how she knew when he realised she was looking over his shoulder. He followed her gaze to indeed see Alex along with all his other friends. Alex looked particularly uncomfortable in this all-too-familiar environment.

Justin quickly turned back to his rather confused looking parents after giving his friends a wave. "Yes, it's Alex. Now I really need you to act normal and do _not_ let on that you know her or the reason _why_ you know her, The others have no idea that we even knew each other let alone used to date and they _can't_ know. So _please_ just go along with it." Justin pleaded.

Jerry and Theresa looked at each other and sighed, "Fine. But we're going to say a proper hello to Alex at some point. Just because you're an idiot and won't speak to her doesn't mean we don't want to." Jerry said.

Justin breathed a sigh of relief, ignoring the insult, "Thank you." he said before turning and walking over to his friends, seeing as they'd already gathered round a couple of tables and booths at the back.

"Hey guys." he greeted, sitting down in a chair next to Chase.

"Hey. When are your parents bringing the food over?" Chase asked quickly.

Justin laughed, "Geez, give them a minute!"

"What? I mean, I just wanna see them; you know I love your parents. And of course, they love me." Chase smirked.

"Yeah, course they do." Justin laughed again.

A few minutes later Theresa came over with some drinks and food and came to talk to all her son's friends. Mostly though, she wanted to see the girl the girl that stole her son's heart all those years ago and knew still had it.

"So, Justin, are you going to introduce me to these new faces?" she asked, so far she'd only met Chase, Mark, Tyler and Emma and of course, Alex.

"Yeah, this is Ryan, Natalie, Tamara, Amy and Alex." Justin said, gesturing to each of them in turn, feeling a bit weird introducing his mom to Alex...y'know, again.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all. Please, call me Theresa." his mom smiled, her grin widening into a warm smile when she looked at Alex. Justin himself couldn't help but smile a little when he noticed how Alex's face lit up when she saw Theresa – just as his parents loved her, Alex also loved his parents. They'd always been so nice to her and treated her like the daughter they never had.

After a few minutes of chit chat, Theresa left the group to it. Eventually they ran out of sodas and wanted some refills. Justin was about to go up and get them when he remembered something.

"Hey Alex, why don't you come help me?" he asked.

"Why?" she retorted rudely.

"Because I think you have a knack for carrying a tray of drinks." Justin couldn't help it – he was never very good at comebacks so he always felt the need to say a good one when it came to mind.

Alex was about to yell something explicit when she saw the look on his face as he was trying to tell her something – he was gesturing to his parents with wide eyes hoping she would understand. Luckily she managed to stop herself from speaking as she did understand what he was saying.

"Well, I did used to do some waitressing." she gave him a fake smile as she got up with him and walked to the counter. "Nice comeback." she mumbled – despite finding it insulting, she had to admit it was impressive for Justin.

"I know." he replied smugly. They got to the counter and Justin cleared his throat, making his parents turn to look at him.

"Alex!" Theresa exclaimed, while Alex went round the other side of the counter to give her hug. "I missed you, sweetie." his mom said.

"I know, I missed you too." Alex replied, returning the hug. "Jerry!" she grinned, letting go of Theresa to go into the kitchen and give his dad a hug.

"Could you guys be a little more subtle?" Justin asked quietly, looking over his shoulder to check that their friends weren't looking.

"Oh Justin, don't ruin it." Theresa told him as Alex cam back round next to Theresa, leaving Jerry to continue making sandwiches. The older woman turned to look at Alex again, "Oh Alex, you look even more beautiful."

Alex made a face, "Pfft, shut up." she waved her hand awkwardly.

"Oh don't be modest. Justin, doesn't she look-" Theresa stopped herself, remembering the situation and seeing Justin giving her a look. She rolled her eyes, "Never mind; I think I'd know the answer anyway."

Justin scratched the back of his neck and cringed, wishing his mom would stop making things awkward, while Alex blushed.

"Are you done yet? Because we kinda came over here for more drinks." Justin said.

Theresa sighed, getting out a load of sodas and putting them on the counter.

"Thanks." Justin said bluntly, noticing the attitude he was getting from his mom.

"Alright but you _have_ to come back again and see us when we don't have a time limit and Mr Impatient over here getting all pushy and embarrassed." Theresa said to Alex.

"_Mom_!" Justin hissed, putting his head in his hands only to look up at the sound of Alex's laugh; he tried to ignore the part in the back of his mind that missed when he could make her laugh but he quickly pushed that to the side as Alex wiped the smile off her face when she saw him looking back at her.

"Yeah, I will." Alex promised Theresa before she took one of the two trays of drinks and held it with ease, smirking at Justin as she breezed past him.

They took the drinks back to the group and continued on with their afternoon.

Theresa turned back to Jerry who was leaning on the counter in the kitchen, "Our son may be a genius but sometimes he can be extremely stupid." he shook his head.

Theresa nodded, "Tell me about it."

**A/N: Well, did you like it? I had to do a chap like that. Not sure what the next chap will be yet. Still thinking. Also not sure when the friends are gonna start finding some clues about their friends. They had a little one in the previous chap with Justin running after Alex and how they both had a bad break up when they were in New York before – plus they know they left New York at the same time. But I have ideas of how more of that's gonna happen so yeah... Anyway, literally can't think of anything else to ramble about so now you can REVIEW!**

**Smiley Ciara XxX :)**


	14. Stubborn

**A/N: Hello! Cheers for the reviews! K. T Skye, Guest and anyone else! Not as many as last time but I don't mind. So this chap is pretty short and it's Alex talking to her mum and her dad about the whole Justin thing. Sorry it's so short but I won't say anymore, so I will let you read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP.**

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It was about a week later and Alex was in her parents' kitchen, stirring her coffee and staring into space.

"Hello? Alex?" her mom waved her hand in front of her daughter's face, finally snapping her out of her daze.

"What? Sorry mom." Alex apologised.

"Are you alright, honey? Cos it seems to me like you have something on your mind." Louisa asked her, a little concerned.

"No, it's nothing." Alex denied, not very convincingly.

"Is it a guy?" Louisa raised an eyebrow.

"No." Alex shook her head.

"C'mon, it's always a guy." Louisa pushed – she knew Alex too well.

Alex sighed, "Well, yeah it _is_ a guy but not in the way you think, mom. I mean... ugh, out of all the people in the world I had to be friends with the ones who're friends with _him_."

"Alex would you mind not speaking in riddles?" her mom was clearly confused.

"OK, so you know how I've got all these new friends, right? They're all really great and everything but..." Alex trailed off with a groan as she thought about the whole thing.

"But what?" Louisa really wished she'd just get to the point.

"But one of them isn't so great – for me anyway. Everyone else seems to _love_ that stupid jerk." she rolled her eyes at the last bit.

"OK so you don't like the guy, what's the big deal?" Louisa asked.

"The big deal is that _I_ used to love that stupid jerk." Alex said, getting to the point.

Louisa's eyes widened, now understanding, "You mean... him?"

"Yes! It's him! I now have to hang out with and spend nearly every freaking day with Justin Russo!" Alex exclaimed, getting angry as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaning back in her chair.

"Oh so now we're allowed to mention 'he who shall not be named'?" Karl now walked into the kitchen, hearing the tail end of the conversation.

"Apparently they have mutual friends." Louisa explained to him.

"Is that a bad thing?" her dad asked.

"Yes, dad; of course it's a bad thing!" Alex shot at her dad.

Alex's parents, like Justin's, also hated the fact they broke up. They loved Justin – once Karl got to know Justin better he treated him like a son and Louisa, well she'd always been fond of him. He was perfect for Alex – he was sensible, decent, smart and clearly loved their daughter to bits. They could understand why they were mad at each other but didn't see why they had to break up and had always hoped they'd get back together.

"C'mon Alex, we both know you're lying when you say you _used_ to love him." Louisa said.

"And what makes you think that?" Alex quipped, frowning.

"Because I know you." Louisa replied simply.

"Look, he hurt me. He didn't even _consider_ that I could go to L.A. He just _expected_ me to follow him – it's like he honestly didn't care about how important that job was to me. As long as he got what he wanted, everything was fine." Alex said bitterly, trying to hold the tears back. She was sick of him making her cry even now.

"Well, you were both being a little selfish to be honest." Karl shrugged.

Alex glared at him, "What?"

"Well, he wanted you to go to Miami, but you also wanted him to go to L.A." Karl explained, ignoring Alex's deadly stare. He wasn't scared of her.

"Look, neither of you were there. You don't know what it was like!" she looked at both her parents before standing up. "I'm going to the bathroom." she muttered, before walking away.

Louisa and Karl looked at each other and shook their heads as Karl spoke, "That pair are too stubborn for their own good."

**A/N: Yeah, kinda short but I wanted you to see both the parents attitudes and now you know that they both want them together. I'm not gonna have them interfere or try and get them back together, that'll happen by itself. Not sure what the next chap will be... probably the friends starting to get a little suspicious I think. Anyway, you may now go ahead and REVIEW!**

**Smiley Ciara XxX :)**


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